Woven Landscapes

Here at Literature Works, we have come to assimilate Avalanche Books of Bristol with very fine poetry and as soon as their latest collection, Woven Landscapes landed on my desk for review, I knew that this was yet another stellar offering.

The first thing I noted was how refreshing this collection was. In the current cultural climate, it is perhaps easy to become wrapped up in political or social issues and forget to appreciate the power and beauty in the natural world around us. This collection does not allow for such things.

The poems contained within these pages explore nature and our relationship to it in such an emotive manner that one cannot help but confront and considers its role within our lives. The second thing which surprised and indeed, challenged me about this collection was that it demonstrated that there is no singular way to look at nature. Yes, there were poems which took what might be considered to be a ‘traditional’ approach to the subject, appreciation of natural objects and places as one might expect but this collection goes deeper than that. The idea of ‘nature’ is not just limited to geographical landscapes or natural objects but also to the idea of ‘human nature’, what it means to be human, to love and to exist.

Each of the six poets anthologised here have something unique to say about the world around them and their place within it and after reading the final poem in the collection I have to say, I’m re-evaluating that for myself. An enlightened and illuminating collection that is a life- affirming celebration of the nature of being, this comes thoroughly recommended.